You'll Never Expect A Thing
by Sannepan
Summary: Arthur knew his manservant weas a bit strange now and then, but this he had never expected. And neither will you! This can be read as a stand-alone, but is a little sequel to 'It Takes A Merlin To Raise A Child'.
1. Chapter One

"Ah – I know you're a bit…_strange_ sometimes, but I would never expect any of…" he waved his hand about, "…this."

Merlin heard the voice; it seemed very familiar, too familiar for his liking, and he froze completely. He couldn't turn to look, but he just knew Arthur was standing right behind him.

"I…err…I…" Merlin mumbled, his face turning red in shame. "Arthur, I didn't mean to -"

"You don't have to explain," Arthur interrupted him. "Just carry on with what you were doing. Or something. And don't forget about your chores."

"Yeah – I will, I guess. And I won't forget," Merlin said, staring at his feet.

Arthur decided that he had spoken enough about the matter, and turned around to walk to the door. He stopped when Merlin spoke again.

"Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you tell?"

A silence fell. Arthur needed to think about this for a second. If anyone found out, Merlin would die, one way or another. Arthur himself may be a prat – according to his loyal manservant anyway – but somewhere deep inside, he still had a heart. And that heart couldn't let Merlin die, however small it was. He didn't want to say Merlin was actually his friend, but he couldn't let him die.

"No," he finally answered.

"To anyone?"

"Not to anyone."

Merlin was able to move again; now that the prince had ensured him it was going to be okay, and he truly believed Arthur wasn't going to tell.

When Merlin turned to look at the prince, the door had closed. Arthur had already left, leaving Merlin alone in his room. Which was a mess of course. Even with his magic Merlin hadn't been able to keep it tidy and clean.

His ears still red with shame, he picked up a lost scarf and laid it on his bed. He mumbled something which even he couldn't make out, and turned to sit. He placed his face in his hands and sighed. Oooh, the shame!

* * *

Arthur didn't want to stay inside, so he had taken his hunting equipment and rode into the forest. The stable boy seemed surprised when the prince had come alone and asked for only one horse. Arthur usually rode out with that manservant of his, who looked like he would fall of his horse the moment he stepped on. Somehow, that servant hadn't come along, but prince Arthur seemed fine with that. It confused the stable boy a little.

"If my father asks, tell him I went hunting," the prince said to him in a monotone voice as he rode away.

Arthur wasn't able to think when he was in the castle. In Camelot, people were everywhere and there wasn't a place where he could be completely alone. Anywhere he was, there was always the chance of anyone walking in and disturbing his thoughts.

However, in the forest there were hardly any people. They were either too scared to go or just didn't have time to. After hunting between the trees for more or less a dozen of year, Arthur knew exactly the place where he could go to think. Nobody would find him and he could think about what had happened in Merlin's room. But while he was riding his horse towards the forest, he tried to keep the thoughts away.

People were still walking along the road with him and some of them even stared at him. It made him feel exposed, and he tried to shake the feeling by lifting his chin up in the air, showing them how proud he was. Arthur really hoped the villagers weren't able to read his problems of his face – that would be terrible. If there was a secret, it didn't stay a secret for very long, given the fact the villagers where known to gossip a lot.

Soon, he managed to reach the trees without much hassle. He continued ignoring the people, even when they started pointing at him. His 'secret lair' (which he liked to call it) wasn't far ahead; in just a moment he was going to be able to get the thoughts in his mind arranged.

Arthur led his horse through the forest, and stepped off when they reached a hill which was covered with trees and leaves.

"Stay here," Arthur said to the horse, stroking the animal's nose. Then he turned and walked around the hill, until he found a heap of branches. The last time he had been here, he had made a sort of door to keep unwanted visitors away. The door was just a few branches, tied together and covered with plants. From a couple of feet away it looked like common ivy, in disarray with twigs and other pieces of wood.  
With his feet, Arthur shoved it out of the way: a dark hole appeared, big enough to stand in and wide enough to bring a huge tree with him if he wished.

But he did bring a torch, and lit it quickly. He entered the dark tunnel, holding the flaming torch in one hand and keeping his other against the stony wall to help him find his way.  
The tunnel led deeper and deeper into the side of the hill and eventually ended in a big open space. It was as big as the main hall in the castle of Camelot, where his father always held his audiences with guests and other people. The ceiling was too high up to be seen, but Arthur could see everything that was closer to the floor. Stalagmites were rising up from the ground everywhere, creating the cavern a dangerous feel. He had to be careful not to step in a pool of water, which was dripping from above his head and soaking his boots.

Arthur didn't have time to admire the bats flying above him, and walked straight up to the only dry place in the cave. He slumped down onto the floor, his back resting against a dry-ish piece of moss. The moment he sat, the thoughts broke out of their cages and rampaged through his mind. Why hadn't Merlin told him about this? Why had he kept it hidden from him for so long? Arthur closed his eyes and hid his face in his hands. Why did he feel so betrayed by his manservant? Betrayed, but at the same time angry. He couldn't stand it that Merlin hadn't told him before. And there was also worry creeping around inside him. What would happen if anyone found out about it?

When his mind had calmed down a bit, Arthur was able to start with the most important concept.  
"Merlin is a s-…he can…a s-…a s-…" he couldn't even say it out loud, not to mention say it in his mind. "Ssss…ssss…" the unfinished words echoed around him, making him feel even more stupid for not being able to speak them.

* * *

**I didn't want to ruin the beginning, so my little speech-thingy is at the end for once. I know this part seemed very serious, but please stay with me for the next chapters!  
And -for the hundredth time- I want to thank MagicbyMerlin for being my inspiration.  
Reviews are always very welcome, even when there not.**


	2. Chapter Two

Merlin had washed Arthur's clothes, polished his boots, even mucked out the stables to show how much he appreciated what the prince had done for him. But when he arrived at Arthur's chambers to let him know he was done for the day – and to thank him, which he had not done yet –, the prince was not in his room, nor in the main hall with his father, nor on the fighting grounds. Arthur was nowhere to be found.

Merlin didn't dare to ask the king: they both would get into trouble for that. He did ask Gwen and Morgana, but they hadn't seen Arthur all day.

Merlin had mucked out the prince's stables, and knew Arthur had not taken his own horse. But Merlin had not checked the other stables. When he went down to see if the prince had taken another horse, Merlin ran into the stable boy. Literally. With a loud crash the two boys collided, and the stable boy dropped the stuff he was carrying.

"Excuse me," Merlin said politely, and picked up the shovel and pitchfork. While he gave them back, he saw whom he had ran into. "Have you seen prince Arthur?"

"That depends," the boy answered, taking back the stuff Merlin was now holding.

"Depends on what?"

The stable boy looked at him. The golden coins were almost visible in his eyes. Merlin noticed, and it became clear what the boy wanted.

"You're blackmailing me?" Merlin exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise. The boy just smirked at him and held out his hand. "You gotta be kidding me," Merlin hissed, and handed him a coin. "Now, tell me! Where did the prince go?"

The boy shrugged.

"I only know he went that way," he said, pointing to the right. Merlin, who couldn't afford any more information, scoffed and turned to walk back to the prince's stables. There was no way he was going to take a horse from that…boy.

"And don't think I won't tell this to the king! He'll have you in the stocks!" he yelled, and lifted his fist at the stable boy, who just shrugged again and smirked.

The stables were indeed very clean and smelled just like flowers, mixed with the smell of horses, of course. Merlin mounted the first horse he could find, and led it to where the stable boy had pointed.  
That boy was going to be in so much trouble if he couldn't find Arthur in this direction…

Merlin wasn't the best tracker in Camelot, but he could see that a horse had walked the same route not long ago. There were footsteps in the mud and some branches were broken. Anybody could follow that trail… Merlin hoped it to be Arthur who had passed, so he would be following the right trail. If not…

Why was he actually trying so hard to find Arthur? He was just a servant and Arthur his master. Arthur could do anything he wanted to do without checking it with his manservant. Okay, he had to ask permission with the king sometimes…  
But Arthur had gone missing, and Merlin had the feeling it had something to do with him and the thing that had happened earlier that day. Merlin's face turned red as soon as he thought about it.

He definitely had to find the prince and talk about what happened.

It had rained yesterday, but hadn't rained since that time, yet the forest floor was muddy, and the footsteps were very visible. They led all the way to a horse, which was tied up to a tree. But the horse was completely alone and Arthur was nowhere to be seen.

"Arthur?" maybe calling out the prince might work, Merlin thought. "Arthur? Are you here?"

* * *

"Are you here?"

Arthur could recognize that voice anywhere and he clutched his knees even tighter. Merlin was somewhere outside the lair. Thankfully, he was never going to be able to find the entrance to this place.

"Arthur! There you are!" Merlin suddenly said, freakishly close. The servant had found the entrance and was standing in the light of the door. While he walked over, he looked up and around him, admiring the cave. "Nice place…"

"Thanks," Arthur said, quickly wiping his face. He hoped Merlin hadn't seen the tears on his cheeks. A prince…the future king of Camelot…crying? Ha!

"Are those…tears?"

Oh, great. Arthur sighed. Merlin was on a roll today… He was standing next to Arthur, towering over him.

"No, there not. Water from the ceiling fell on my face, that's all," Arthur stated.

"Oh, okay," Merlin decided not to go on about the subject, being a very sensitive one. Arthur sighed again. But suddenly, Merlin sat too, not to far from where Arthur was sitting.

A long pause, the boys were waiting for one another to say something. Merlin was still looking around and his eyes followed a bat which squeaked when it flew over. Arthur was fidgeting with his trouser leg. Finally, it was Merlin who broke the silence.

"So how are you doing?" he said.

Arthur looked up at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his eyes were filled with tears again.

"Errr…" that was very straight to the point. Merlin hadn't expected that. Nor had he expected more tears.

"I thought…" Arthur continued, but stopped midsentence. With his sleeve he dried his eyes.

"You thought what?" Merlin asked gently.

"That you were my friend, and that you would tell me stuff like this, but you didn't and now I'm stuck here feeling miserable," Arthur said in only one breath. There, he had poured out his mind and heart. Merlin now knew how Arthur felt about him. He looked at his servant to see how he was picking up on all of the information.  
Which was quite well, for he was smiling.

"Your friend, really?" his bottom lip was almost trembling with happiness.

"Yeah," Arthur said softly. "But don't go telling everybody. You're still my manserv-…" he lost his breath when suddenly two arms got wrapped around him, holding him tightly.  
He was surprised to see Merlin hugging him.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Giving you a hug," Merlin said, not moving away.

"Why?"

"Because I'm so proud of you!"

"And why is that?" this was getting weirder by the second.

"Because you finally admitted that I am your friend! Oh, and by the way, you are my friend too," Merlin said, smiling. He wanted to let go of Arthur, but stopped when he felt two arms hugging him.  
Arthur was hugging back. The prince hadn't had many friends in his life, and most of them just hung around him just because he was the prince. For example those boys who he'd had around when he was teasing Merlin, weren't real friends. Merlin, on the other hand, was the realest friend he had ever had.

"Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

"Can't…breath…"

Arthur let go quickly so Merlin could gasp for air.

The silence returned. Merlin was thinking about the stable boy, how he had been right about the whereabouts of Arthur. But still he was going to report the blackmailing. Maybe he could even try to get his coin back.

Arthur's mind, on the other hand, had gone back to the beginning of the day. Merlin had been later than usual, so Arthur decided to check it out. But when he opened the door to Merlin's chambers, he encountered something he really hadn't expected. All of the thoughts flowed through his mind again and the only thing he could do was say…

* * *

**Aaah! I'm so sorry for this big clifhanger! But it was all for the best, I promise you! I didn't reply to your reviews, because I was afraid I was going to spoil the rest of the story. Sorry for that, and anyway: Thank you for believing in me! I always thought my writings were rubbish...**


	3. Chapter Three

"YOU'RE A SEAMSTRESS!!!"

Merlin jumped up and was standing again. The sudden outburst of Arthur had really been sudden and scared him.

"The correct word is actually 'tailor', because I'm a man," Merlin corrected.

"You can sew!" Arthur continued.

"Yeah…"

"And you're a man!"

"Also correct. I do hope that is kind of obvious, by the way," Merlin punched Arthur on the shoulder when the prince seemed like he was thinking about that.

"Ow," Arthur rubbed his arm. "But-? What-? Why…?"

"Well, one: it's very handy for mending stuff. For instance, your socks…" Merlin rubbed the back of his head. "Two: remember the time when you were turning into a child?"

"No! I do not! When did I turn into -?" Arthur started protesting, but was quickly interrupted by Merlin.

"That doesn't matter right now! But you needed some clothes, and Gwen wasn't in town, so I made some for you…"

"You never told me I was turning into a child! Now I know why everybody kept teasing me and calling me Artie," Arthur sulked.

"Yeah, I'll explain it all later. But anyway, I made some clothes for you out of my scarves," Merlin said, a big grin on his face. "I was actually glad you forgot about that…my poor scarves…" he admitted, turning red again. "If anyone found out about it…sewing is a girl's hobby! I'm not a girl!"

Arthur chuckled, and Merlin punched him again.

"I would die of shame if anyone knew. I almost did when you shouted it to everyone in the main hall. And today, when you walked into my room without knocking."

Arthur cleared his throat.

"_You _never knock," he pointed out truthfully.

"So you will always know it's me entering your room," Merlin grinned.

"How useful," Arthur started fidgeting with his sleeve again. "Merlin, do you think you could do me a favour?"

"Sure, what is it? Is it mucking out your stables? Because I've already done that," Merlin said proudly. But he was sure that wasn't what Arthur was trying to say. The prince was having a lot of trouble saying it.

"It's something I can't ask Gwen…and since we're friends…and you can sew…I thought I could ask you…" Arthur murmured, not daring to look at Merlin.

Merlin was becoming curious now.

"What is it? Tell me! I'll do anything if it includes sewing!" he said eagerly.

"Well…I'm in need of some new pyjamas," the prince began, almost ripping the thread out of his sleeve. "But I want them to say 'Future King' and with a big arrow pointing to my head. Do you think…you can…do that?"

Merlin smiled and nodded.

"I can always try…"

"And can you make a teddy on the back of it? I'm getting sick of that yellow dragon everywhere," Arthur added, turning red now. If he was doing it, he was doing it all the way.

Merlin was trying hard to not burst into laughter.

"Sure, Arthur…BWHAHAHAHA!!!" he failed horribly, and rolled over the floor, laughing.

Arthur seemed annoyed this.

"Hey, I like teddies…" he sulked, poking Merlin in the ribs with his elbow as he sat up again, still chuckling. "Don't make fun of the teddies!" and he pouted.

"Are you serious???" Merlin wrapped his arms around his stomach. It was hurting! "Teddies???"

Arthur scoffed and looked away. He had been very serious about the fluffy animals, and thought that Merlin was being extremely rude to him. He was the prince after all! But Merlin's frantic laughter turned into a snigger, and then stopped altogether.

The cave was silent again.

"Merlin? You won't tell anyone, will you?" Arthur asked out of the blue. Merlin smirked at him.

"I won't tell, because you're my friend," he said, "…_Artie_."

Arthur gave his manservant a 'what-did-you-just-call-me?' look. Merlin wasn't going to start this again! The whole 'Artie-business' had just ended a couple of days ago and he was sure he was going to punch the next person who said it again.

"Merlin?"

"Yes, Artie?"

Okay, the next person who wasn't Merlin.

"You do remember the stocks, don't you?" Arthur said, trying to scare his servant with it.

"Yes, Artie! How can I forget about those?"

"You will be collecting vegetables again, if you say that name one more time. You hear me?" Arthur was showing off with his superiority again, but Merlin didn't seem to care.

"I heard you perfectly well!" he said, and wiggled his ears up and down. "Artie!"

Arthur jumped up and started to chase Merlin around the cave.

"I could make a nice veggie-soup for you!"

* * *

**Please tell me exactly what you thought when you found out! :P I know it is just plain silly, but I love silly!  
There is just on chapter to go, by the way.... Filled with even more sillyness!**


	4. Chapter Four

"One thing I'm curious about…" Arthur said while he was standing next to Merlin. His manservant held a scarlet red coloured piece of cloth in his one hand and a needle and thread in the other.

"Yeah?" Merlin stuck the needle into the pyjamas and pulled it through.

"When you bought the fabric, what did you tell the merchant? I mean, you didn't want anyone to know," Arthur just had to grin about this, but made sure Merlin couldn't see it.

"I told him I was doing some shopping for you," Merlin smiled.

"YOU DID WHAT???"

"Just joking!" Merlin said, as Arthur was about to drag him to the stocks. "I told the man I was getting some stuff for Gwen, and he bought it, he always does," Merlin took the needle again and made another stitch in the cloth. He held it up into the light. The formless piece of fabric was already starting to look like pyjamas.

Because Arthur had pushed him to, he had already made the embellishments on the front and back: a bright yellow arrow pointing upwards with the words 'future king' in a very nice silver font beneath it. On the back, a big teddy was sitting, not doing anything in particular. It was just sitting there, looking extremely cute.  
That was what Arthur thought of the teddy anyway. He eagerly snatched it out of Merlin hands and started to pull it over his head. Merlin stretched out his hand to stop him.

"Arthur, there are still some -" he began.

"OW!" Arthur yelled, looking hurt. He stared at the shirt in terror.

"Some pins in there…" Merlin chuckled, and took the shirt back. He pulled out the pins and gave it back to Arthur. "There, try it on?"

"My finger's bleeding…" Arthur pouted, and put it in his mouth to stop the bleeding.

"Does that mean you can't try it on? Or do you need a little kiss on the sore spot, like when you were a little chil -?"

"_Nooo_! I'll be fine!" he pulled out his finger to show Merlin the bleeding had already servant started teasing him about the 'being-childlike' again. He hated when he did that… "And gimme those!" he pulled the shirt out of his servants hands, and took off his own shirt. He quickly pulled the pyjama over his head and fidgeted it so it was sitting correctly. "And?"

Merlin sniggered, and ducked as Arthur tried to poke him again.

"No! Help! It looks good! It really does!"

"You are lying because I'm the prince?" Arthur asked, brushing the wrinkles out of the letters so they were clearly visible.

"No! Why would I be lying to you? You look very goo-" Merlin snickered, trying to avoid a possible punch to his shoulder.

"Oh, stop it already!" Arthur interrupted him and walked over to a small mirror that was hanging in the room.

A big smile entered his face as he saw himself in his new pyjamas. He ought find a way to thank Merlin for it, and make sure that his servant wasn't going to tell anyone. On the other hand, only Arthur knew Merlin was able to sew. And they were friends. It was going to be fine.

The smile dropped of his face, and he turned back to Merlin.

"You…why…spelling…YOU DIDN'T!" he yelled, and pointed at the letters on his shirt. They said 'futur' instead of 'future', but it was a mistake which was easy to correct. Merlin just had to make another 'e' and everything was going to be fine. Arthur didn't seem fine, far from it in fact, and he was staring at it with fury. "Why can't you spell, _Mer_lin?"

Merlin's jaw dropped to the floor.

"But I can spell! I can spell perfectly! P – E – R – F – E -"

"Then why is 'future' spelled wrong???" Arthur snapped, taking the shirt off again and throwing it at Merlin's head.

"Because you gave me this note on which you drew what I should make! So I did!" Merlin said, handing Arthur a piece of paper. Indeed, there was the teddy and the yellow arrow, both very poorly drawn. The words said: "Futur King".

"It's not mine fault, it's yours!"

"So, you are saying I'm the one who can't spell?" Arthur's eyes were shooting icicles.

"Erm…I think I did?" Merlin rubbed the back of his head. Of course he could have checked what he was stitching, and he should have noticed the mistake. But Arthur had been so annoying, almost jumping up and down with excitement, and Merlin wanted it over as soon as possible. He had never noticed the missing 'e'.

Arthur was coming closer. He seemed angry. Step by step he neared Merlin, who was looking franticly for a way out. The door to Gaius's workshop was still open and he decided to take a run for it. Arthur had already stretched out his arms to grab Merlin, but stumbled onto the bed as his servant sprinted out of the room.

"COME HERE!!! I DO KNOW HOW TO SPELL! I CAN SPELL PERFECTLY, TOO!" he yelled and started to spell as he tried to catch up with Merlin. "P – E – R – F – E – C – T – L - Y!"


End file.
